Session theme
Straight Length and the T — building a reliable straight rail and a disciplined, automatic recovery to the T after every shot.
Timeline
| Time | Activity |
|---|---|
| 0:00–0:10 | Warm-up: Straight Rail Feed & T-Touch |
| 0:10–0:35 | Drill 1: Straight Rail Drives |
| 0:35–1:00 | Drill 2: Length & T-Recovery Combo |
| 1:00–1:20 | Games 1: Length Only (conditioned) |
| 1:20–1:40 | Games 2: Touch the T (conditioned) |
| 1:40–2:00 | Games 3: Open Play |
Warm-up: Straight Rail Feed & T-Touch (10 min)
All 8 players on court from the start — 2 pairs per court. Player A feeds a gentle ball down one side wall from mid-court; Player B receives it, drives it straight back down the same wall, and touches the T before recovering to hit again. Keep the pace easy — this is about racket preparation and light footwork, not intensity. Swap feeder/hitter roles after ~90 seconds, then swap which wall (forehand/backhand) after each pair has had a turn in both roles, so every player gets a forehand set and a backhand set before Drill 1 starts.
Drill details
Drill 1: Straight Rail Drives
- Setup
- 2 pairs per court (4 players/court). One pair drills at a time while the other pair rests at the back of the court; swap every set.
- Pattern
- Feeder feeds cross-court onto the front wall so the ball rebounds into the hitter's corner. Hitter drives it straight down the same side wall (a rail), aiming to land behind the service box and hug the wall. Feeder retrieves and re-feeds. Run a set of 8–10 reps on the forehand side, then switch to the backhand side, then swap feeder/hitter roles and repeat both sides.
- Coaching points
-
- Contact point out in front of the body, racket face closed to keep the ball tight to the wall.
- Recover toward the T after every shot — don't stand and admire it.
- Feeder: consistent, repeatable feed height and pace, not a race.
- Success criterion
- 8 of 10 rail drives land behind the service box and within a racket-length of the side wall.
- Regression
- Feeder tosses/underarm-feeds instead of hitting; widen the target to the whole back third of the court.
- Progression
- Hitter must fully recover to the T and pause there before the next shot; feeder varies feed depth to force an adjustment.
- Duration
- 25 min.
Drill 2: Length & T-Recovery Combo
- Setup
- Progress to a 3-on-court rotation (Feeder, Hitter, Waiting) — the 4th player from each court's pair rotates in as a fresh Hitter every 4–6 reps, so nobody is stuck resting for long. Straight-down-the-line feed this time (not off the front wall) — deliberately different from Drill 1's pattern so the group sees two distinct looks at the same theme.
- Pattern
- Feeder feeds straight down the line to the Hitter's corner. Hitter drives it for length back down the same line, then immediately touches the T with their racket foot before recovering wide. After each rep: Feeder → Hitter, Hitter → Waiting (or rotates off for the next player in), Waiting → Feeder.
- Coaching points
-
- Split-step before moving to the ball.
- Touch the T with the racket foot specifically, not just "somewhere near it."
- Quick, purposeful recovery — not a lazy jog back.
- Success criterion
- Hitter touches the T within about a second of contact on at least 8 of 10 reps, and length drives land in the back quarter of the court.
- Regression
- Widen the "T zone" the hitter needs to reach rather than the exact marking; feeder feeds slower and shorter.
- Progression
- Feeder randomly varies the feed to forehand or backhand side — hitter must read and adapt on the move.
- Duration
- 25 min.
Games details
Games 1: Length Only (conditioned, 20 min)
- Condition
- A point only counts if the winning shot lands behind the service box (either wall) — anything short is a dead ball, replay the rally. Keeps everyone using the length skill from the drill block.
- Scoring
- King of the court — winner stays on, first to 5 wins and stays, loser rotates off.
- Rotation
- Both courts run in parallel; rotate players between the two courts every 2 games to mix up matchups.
- Duration
- 20 min.
Games 2: Touch the T (conditioned, 20 min)
- Condition
- After hitting a shot, a player must touch the T (racket or foot) before their opponent's return arrives, or they forfeit the point. Self-officiated — honor system.
- Scoring
- Straight games to 7, win by 2.
- Rotation
- Round-robin across both courts; rotate opponents every game.
- Duration
- 20 min.
Games 3: Open Play (normal, 20 min)
- Condition
- None — full rules, applying everything from the session.
- Scoring
- Straight games to 11, standard PAR scoring.
- Rotation
- Round-robin across both courts, informal.
- Duration
- 20 min.
Court split
Both courts mirror the same drill/game at the same time — this plan is written for 8 players split evenly 4-and-4 across 2 courts. See Coach's notes for adapting to other player counts.
Coach's notes
- Watch for players cutting the T-touch short in Drill 2 and Games 2 — the whole point is building a deliberate recovery habit, not just going through the motions.
- If numbers are odd (7 or 9), run Drill 2's 3-on-court rotation from the start on one court instead of building up to it, and float the extra player between courts each set.
- Low-turnout fallback: if only 1 court is available or turnout is 5–6 players, run everything on a single court with a tighter constant 3-player rotation (skip Drill 2's 4th resting slot) and shorten each block by about 5 minutes to keep the same proportions.